Athletic shoulder protector



NOV. 11,1947. GOLDSMlTH 2,430,502

ATHLETI C SHOULDER PROTECTOR i Filed oct. 25, 1945 'VILAVTOR. HUGO601.05m/ TH.

ATTORNEYS,

Patented Nov. 11, 1947 ATHLETIC SHOULDER PROTECTOR Hugo Goldsmith,Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Sport Products, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, acorporation of Ohio Application October 25, 1945, Serial No. 624,346

6 Claims. (Cl. 2 2) My invention relates to the construction of devicesused in such games as football, hockey, lacrosse, and other sports for1vprotecting the participants shoulders, chest, collar bone, shoulderjoints, upper arm and upper chest and back from injuries resulting fromcontact with other players or such obstacles as may be met in playingthe game.

Such protective devices are customarily com= posed of body piecespartially covering the chest and back, and placed on the body over thehead, there being portions which pass over the shoulders. Ordinarilythere are two halves of such covering or rigid material laced togetherat the front and hinged or laced together in some manner down the back,with adjustments at the sides, usually by straps which may be adjustableas to length. In order to protect the outer portions of the shoulderwhere it connects with the upper arm, epaulets or shoulder caps arenormally attached by lacing or a ilexible hinge to the lateral topmargins of the main protective covering. In order to protect the line ofjuncture lbetween the epaulets or shoulder caps and the main coveringcollar bone, protector flaps are hinged on the main covering on flexibletabs which lie along the neck line. Padding is used to line thecomposite structure to cushion blows which may be inilicted.

This structure, as customarily used, is cumbersome and annoying to theuser, and the epaulets and collar bone protector flaps get torn away, aswell as chafe against the sweater or jersey used on top of the harness,causing it to wear.

This structure also fails to protect the wearer in a Very essentialrespect, to-wit: against a blow on the shoulder cap or epaulet whichcauses it to tip into the shoulder due to the flexible strip which isused to attach it in a hinged manner to the shoulder. l

It is the object of my invention to do away with the collar boneprotector flaps altogether, since there is no need in my construction toprotect the joint between the shoulder caps or epaulets and the mainbody protectors of the device. In connection with the shoulder epaulets,I so mount them that they are free to swing but yet have a socketrelation maintained by rigid material at all times so that there is nospace into which the epaulets can be tipped, thus bruising and pinchMnovelty inherent in the disclosure will be set forthV in the appendedclaims to which reference is hereby made.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the right half of the completeprotective device and illustrating my improved construction.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the protective device as worn bya participant.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional View illustrating an alternativeconstruction.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a further alternativeconstruction.

The protective device is formed, as is normal in such construction, oftwo halves, a right half I and the left half 2, formed of rigid ber orlike material that can be molded as a base material. These half portionsare each shaped to cover the upper chest to extend over the shoulderbetween the neck and the tip of the shoulder and down the back. Thereare lacing holes at la at the front of the two halves and lacing holes2a at the back of the two halves. Also, desiraloly, webbing 3 extendsacross between the lower outer margin at the rear. Thus, the head isthrust between the two halves, and the arms thrust in above the webbing,

`whereupon the two halves lie over the upper chest, collar bones,shoulders, and upper back.

Desirably, the inside of the two halves is heavily padded as by tubularfabric pieces filled with sponge rubber material vor other resilientpadding material, these tubular pieces outlining the two halves on theinside .along their margins, and slightly lapping them. So far, thestructure is of standard type and does not involve my new departure. Itmight be added that hinged cushion shoulder pads 4 may be secured withthe tubular padding near the neck line of each of the two halves andproject thence out over the shoulder, as indicated.

It should be noted that the protector as so far described may vary, suchas being made in one piece, being padded internally in various fashions,being held in place by elastic rather than lacing. While the bestmaterial is molded stiff fiber, for the bodies of the two protectorhalves, this is not the only material which may be employed to provide arelatively unyielding structure which serves to spread the effect of anyblow over a considerable area of the body Where the chest, shoulder andback protecting pieces are formed of one piece of molded fiber, my newdeparture requires a special construction at the ends of the shouldercovering portions. I-Iere the fiber is molded to present a dependingwall 5 across the shoulder which is then turned outwardly as at 6 and ifdesired, somewhat upwardly to form a socket as a part of said shouldercovering portion. This socket, in the preferred construction, isprovided with lacing holes I5a which are in or close to the dependingwall.

The epaulets l, one for each shoulder and upper arm, are of the standardcup shaped construction, best formed of molded ber which is rigid, withtheir lower edges faced on the inside with sponge rubber housed infabric, or padding of various kinds, as indicated at 8. 'In thepreferred construction, the ber is extended somewhat at the top of theepaulet to form a tongue 9, which has lacing holes 9a in it, all being apart of the epaulet fiber.

When mounted in place the tongue 9 is set over the ledge 6, and laces lil used to connect hingedly the holes 5a and the holes 9a. Thus theupper edges of the epaulets rest directly on the ledges projecting fromthe shoulder portion of the body protectors. The lacing will not be sotight but that the epaulets may rock upwardly, thus giving freedom forarm movement. But at all times the socket-like relation of the tops ofthe epaulets and the outer edges of the main bodies of the protectorwill be retained.

Thus any blow against the shoulder epaulets will be transmitted to themain body portions and thus spread out over a much larger area than theblow itself, and there will be no possibility of the epaulets beingrocked by a blow into a position of gouging directly into the shoulderor upper arm of the wearer.

Where the portions 5 and 6 are arranged to present an upwardly facingchannel, as results if the portion 6 is curved upwardly, then thetongues on the epaulets will be shaped to fit into and rock in saidchannels. This will be evident wit-hout special illustration.

Itis not necessary to have the collar bone protective ilaps overlie thejoint between the shoulder and upper arm protective epaulets, or caps,as :in previous structures, and the body of the protector, because thereis no point where the connection of the epaulets is not protected by theseating of the rigid epaulet tongues on a projection from the rigidiiber of the shoulder of the main body sections.

By means of this hinged seating of the shoulder cap or epaulets into thegrooved rigid fiber of the shoulder portion of the main body portion,there isno unprotected part, or exposed part that will not absorb theshock of body contact that is so prevalent in the game of football orsimilar sports.

The inside shoulder pads 4 lie under the construction'and extend outwell past the seat between the epaulets and the body portion on theinside of the harness.

As alternative forms, I have shown in Figure 5 a construction in whichthe body portions of the protective device do not have the unitary PTO-jections at the shoulder line but instead a channel-like piece Il isriveted in place at the shoulder line to accomplish the same purpose.

Again, as shown in Figure 4, it may be practical to form the shoulder ofthe body portion with the tongue, as indicated at I5, and form the berof the epaulet so as to project upwardly at l6 and then outwardly at l1to overlie the tongue. Laces I8 will then be placed between the tonguel5 and the overlying portion Il of the epaulet structure, resulting in ahinge which functions as does the first one described, forming a socketfor the hinging of the epaulet, which at all times is located above aprojecting ber portion that is rigid with the main body portion of thestructure. In this modication there is no downward projection at theshoulder tips of the body portion, which is an advantage, but the firstform is believed to be the stronger for general use.

There are other modifications which will occur to the builder of suchconstructions for athletic protection, and it is not intended by notingcertain possible modifications to exclude others which will occur to themanufacturer.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A protective device for the upper body comprising relatively rigidportions passing over the shoulders, epaulets hinged thereto, saidepaulets including relatively rigid material, a socket element formed inthe lateral margins of the rigid portions at the shoulders, and acooperating element to overlie said socket portion formed in the rigidportion of the epaulets, and flexible means connecting the two rigidportions so arranged as to permit rocking and freedom of movement of theepaulets on the shoulder portions, but to prevent the movement of theepaulet portions away from said overlying position.

2. The combination of claim l in which the rigid portions of theshoulder and the rigid portions of the epaulets are integrally molded toform said socket and overlying portions.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the flexible connection consistsof lacing, said shoulder portions and epaulet portions having aperturedparts to receive the lacing.

4. In `combination a shoulder portion for a protective device for theupper body including a relatively rigid portion, an epaulet to hang overthe upper arm at the shoulder having a relatively rigid portion, andmeans for hingedly connecting the epaulet to the shoulder portioncomprising an overlying relatively rigid portion on the epaulet and anunderlying relatively rigid portion on the shoulder portion togetherforming a socket and a cooperating element for the purpose described.

5. In a protective device comprising a relatively rigid portion passingover the shoulders of the wearer, an epaulet to be hingedly connected tosaid relatively rigid portion comprising a member on the margin of therigid portion of the shoulder which is rst bent downwardly and thenoutwardly, and a rigid portion of the epaulet which extends across theoutward portion at the margin of the shoulder thus forming a socket,said interengaging portions of the shoulder and epaulet having lacingholes therein, for hingedly securing the epaulet to the shoulder.

6. In a protective device comprising a relatively rigid portion passingover the shoulder of the REFERENCES CITED The following references areof record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Eierce Nov. 25, 1924 HartmanSept. 21, 1926 Mullins Apr. 16, 1929 Glahe Feb. 23, 1932 Till June 7,1932 Kennedy June 20, 1939

